WASHINGTON - Facing one of the toughest campaigns of any Republican congressman in the country, Rep. Gary Miller announced Wednesday that he would not seek reelection to his Inland Empire seat, increasing prospects for a Democratic pickup. "While there is still a lot of work to be done, it is now time for me to pass the baton. I will not seek reelection to Congress at the end of this term," Miller said in a statement. His decision sets up a competitive race among at least four Democrats - including an attempted comeback by former Rep. Joe Baca - in a district President Obama won by a wide margin.

Four Democrats have been battling for months over who was best suited to challenge Rep. Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga) for his Inland Empire congressional seat. But when Miller announced in February that he wouldn't seek another term, he inadvertently laid the groundwork for a fight within his own party. The battle escalated Friday between Lesli Gooch, a longtime former Miller aide who has his endorsement, and Paul Chabot, a military officer/businessman. The Gooch campaign issued a news release announcing her endorsement by the San Bernardino County Republican Party. "We must protect California's 31st District and keep it out of the hands of Nancy Pelosi," the GOP's county chairman, Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills, said in a statement issued by the Gooch campaign.

GARY MILLER, you make a grown man cry. Using your congressional staff, and your official letterhead, to score some tickets to see the Rolling Stones? That's a violation of federal law and leaves us, frankly, shattered. According to a Dec.

Two Republicans have entered the race to succeed retiring Rep. Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga) in a district that has become increasingly Democratic. They are San Bernardino City Councilman John Valdivia and Paul Chabot, a military veteran and small business owner who lives in Rancho Cucamonga. Miller announced this week he would step down rather than seek another term in the Inland Empire's 31st Congressional District. No well-known Republican has stepped into the contest for what will be a tough district for the GOP to hold. Chabot, however, has endorsements from former GOP Rep. Jerry Lewis and former state Sen. Bob Dutton, both of whom used to represent much of the area.

For years, Rancho Cucamonga residents trekked up to the Carrari Ranch in the foothills every December, chopped down their Christmas trees and carried them home to layer with garland and lights. This year, the gates to the old tree farm have been locked. Most of the trees were lost two years ago in a fire. And the farm's new owner, U.S. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar), has plans to reshape the hillside and turn the farm into a 110-unit housing development.

Another sports announcer wound up on the police blotter Saturday when Gary Miller, who was covering the Oriole-Indian series for ESPN, was arrested and charged with urinating out the window of a Cleveland nightclub onto off-duty police officers. Miller, 40, of Branford, Conn., was arrested at about 1:30 a.m. at The Basement, a popular dance club in Cleveland's Flats neighborhood. He was charged with public indecency, aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, police Sgt.

ESPN's Gary Miller is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of indecency, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Miller, a host for the cable sports network's "Baseball Tonight," was arrested Saturday and charged with urinating out the window of a nightclub onto off-duty police officers.

Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives were searching Tuesday for three grandchildren of Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-Diamond Bar) who were believed to have been kidnapped by their mother. Detectives were dispatched to the 22000 block of Cello Drive in Diamond Bar late Monday to investigate the suspected abduction of the three boys, Deputy Oscar Butao said. The oldest child, Brian, is 8 and his brothers, Evan and Christian, are 6-year-old twins, Butao said.

There are giant pumpkins, and then there are giant pumpkins that weigh more than a small car, pack on 50 pounds a day and require a forklift to move. On Monday, a California tournament crowned a new record holder. Weighing in at 1,985 pounds, Gary Miller's giant gourd set a new record Monday for a California pumpkin at the annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-off. At one point during its furious 100-day growth cycle, the pumpkin was adding 50 pounds every 24 hours to end up weighing more than a two-seat Smart car. Linus van Pelt, eat your heart out. "I am so happy," Miller told the Bay Area's KRON-TV.

WASHINGTON - Facing one of the toughest campaigns of any Republican congressman in the country, Rep. Gary Miller announced Wednesday that he would not seek reelection to his Inland Empire seat, increasing prospects for a Democratic pickup. "While there is still a lot of work to be done, it is now time for me to pass the baton. I will not seek reelection to Congress at the end of this term," Miller said in a statement. Miller, elected to the House in 1998, was among the Democrats' top targets this year and regarded as among the nation's most vulnerable Republicans - if not the most.

There are giant pumpkins, and then there are giant pumpkins that weigh more than a small car, pack on 50 pounds a day and require a forklift to move. On Monday, a California tournament crowned a new record holder. Weighing in at 1,985 pounds, Gary Miller's giant gourd set a new record Monday for a California pumpkin at the annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-off. At one point during its furious 100-day growth cycle, the pumpkin was adding 50 pounds every 24 hours to end up weighing more than a two-seat Smart car. Linus van Pelt, eat your heart out. "I am so happy," Miller told the Bay Area's KRON-TV.

It's little wonder that Democrats have set their sights on GOP Rep. Gary Miller, widely viewed as one of the most vulnerable House members in next year's elections, mainly because he holds a seat that the opposite party had been expected to win last year. Spurred by redrawn political maps, the conservative Republican congressman moved into an Inland Empire district increasingly favorable to Democrats. Under the state's new "top-two" primary system, Miller defeated a fellow Republican last November after four Democrats split their party's vote and failed to survive the primary.

The battle for a San Bernardino County congressional seat has become a magnet for outside "super PAC" dollars. The June 5 primary election that pits Republican Rep. Gary G. Miller of Diamond Bar against Republican state Sen. Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga has received close to $1 million in outside money, the most of any congressional race in the nation. By far, the greatest beneficiary has been Miller, who was elected to Congress in 1998 after making a fortune in home building.

The three grandchildren of U.S. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar), missing for nearly four years, are now in protective custody after their mother was arrested in Mexicali, Mexico, authorities said. In November 2007, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives were dispatched to the 22000 block of Cello Drive in Diamond Bar to investigate the suspected abduction of the three boys by their mother, Jennifer Lopez DeJongh. DeJongh, 34, did not have legal custody of the children.

An experiment to charge solo drivers to use speedier carpool lanes on two of Los Angeles' most congested freeways has hit renewed opposition in Congress as two influential lawmakers ? a Republican and a Democrat ? say the plan is unfair to taxpayers and would create a two-tier transportation system for rich and poor. Rep. Gary G. Miller of Diamond Bar, the senior California Republican on the House Transportation Committee, said the toll of up to $1.40 a mile during peak periods "absolutely infuriates me. " Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles)

It was not the room-temperature ham-and-cheese omelets that roused these political junkies to a City of Industry hotel banquet room at the otherwise ungodly hour of 7:30 one recent Friday morning. What brought them out was the season's first campaign forum in the 41st Congressional District and the candidates who would show up for it--or, more accurately, the candidate who wouldn't. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, Congressman Kim can't be here," an aide from Washington said cryptically.

Four Democrats have been battling for months over who was best suited to challenge Rep. Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga) for his Inland Empire congressional seat. But when Miller announced in February that he wouldn't seek another term, he inadvertently laid the groundwork for a fight within his own party. The battle escalated Friday between Lesli Gooch, a longtime former Miller aide who has his endorsement, and Paul Chabot, a military officer/businessman. The Gooch campaign issued a news release announcing her endorsement by the San Bernardino County Republican Party. "We must protect California's 31st District and keep it out of the hands of Nancy Pelosi," the GOP's county chairman, Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills, said in a statement issued by the Gooch campaign.

Open seats and brisk primary challenges to some incumbent officeholders made for a handful of lively contests for congressional and legislative seats Tuesday, including the Democratic primary in a race to succeed former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. In that race, Holly Mitchell, head of a child care advocacy group, was leading Reginald Jones-Sawyer, an asset manager for the city of L.A., and three others in early returns. Bass, termed out of the Assembly and running to succeed Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles)